" My Lord, the people you've summoned have arrived. " Sugude struggled to speak in broken Xiugmari.
" Good, let them enter. " With both of them not being fully fluent in Xiugmari, it made communicating a pain in the ass. To ease the language barrier, Krei resorted to adding hand gestures whenever he communicated.
If not for being frantic to establish his faction, Krei wouldn't have taken the Sekle tribe under his wings. With Sugude the only one alive in the tribe who barely knows how to speak Xiugmari, Krei is being burdened by the strained communication.
Now that the Sekle Tribe had been saved, to avoid Sugude from taking advantage, consolidating power and establishing a proper way of communication became the priority of Krei. As such, he summoned all the surviving leading figures of the tribe.
Ever since Sumuje died at the hands of Commander Bai, these smaller leaders in the tribe had sneakily partitioned the tribe's power amongst themselves.
If not for them being imprisoned, these men of aspirations would long have fought to become the new Chief. Unfortunately for them, Krei popped out of nowhere and easily established himself as the top dog.
With modern firearms in hand, no one could contend with Krei. They were all outmatched and barred the chance to resist.
During the earlier take over of the west camp, the tribe members that had shown strong opposition to Krei were slain. Ironically, they perished along with the Kang Army soldiers that imprisoned them.
One by one, the people that had been summoned entered the main tent. Sitting in a wooden chair, Krei addressed them.
Following Sugude's translation, everyone obeyed.
" As you know, I can't communicate with most of you. And It's bothering me that someone has the power to distort my words without me even knowing. "
Krei then turned to Sugude and glanced at him meaningfully.
" To solve this issue, I will be teaching you a new language. It is paramount that you learn what I will teach. "
" Those that will work hard to learn would receive a gift from me, and those that wouldn't pay attention will receive this. "
Krei took his taser, aimed it at one of them, and pulled the trigger.
In no time, the middle-aged man howled and turned into a falling wooden stick. Not giving everyone enough time to react, Krei proceeded to taze them.
Groans rang one after another as they were knocked to the ground. Stiff and stale, they wriggled like worms.
" Not a pleasant experience, right? " With a wide smile, Krei played with the taser.
Eyes bloodshot, some of them weren't able to keep hold of their anger. Loud profanities were thrown, and spit flew towards Krei.
Seeing their impudence, Krei took his second taser and assaulted them once again.
" AHHHHKK! "
" GHHHH! "
" ST-OP! "
Getting served a second time, they no longer had the energy to say a word. Slumped like noodles, their wheezing breaths obscured their gritting teeth.
" Now Now~~ Since I've already shown you the punishment, it wouldn't be fair if I don't reward you, right? "
With a press of a button, bright light illuminated the tent causing temporary blindness. Subsequently, thumping music pounded the ears of everyone present.
" Deity! My Lord! Mercy! "
Eyes shut, everyone hurriedly kowtowed towards Krei.
The light made their knees tremble, and the intense music made them want to piss themselves.
" Don't be afraid, here's your reward. "
Twelve ice cream cups were distributed, one for each person.
Afraid and cautious, they grabbed their cups.
" You see this? Taste it. " While pointing his taser at them, Krei demonstrated how to enjoy the sweet delicacy.
Following Krei, Sugude reluctantly took a modest spoonful of ice cream.
" errrgg~ Frosty! Sweet ---"
Despite being brainfrozen, Sugude couldn't help but turn silent as he marveled at the tongue-melting party of sweetness.
Seeing Sugude's jovial expression, the caution of others wavered.
Upon tasting, they all had roughly the same expressions ---- their faces contorted and turned fluffy. It was a weird sight to see tough-looking men crumble and act like children.
" Ice cream tastes incredible, right? Do you want more? You can get more if you are obedient. "
Smiling from ear to ear, Krei looked like a shady old man trying to entice victims.
" But of course you won't be getting these for free… "
Turning around, Krei picked up his laptop and played a video.
" Eyes here everyone. If you memorize this, you will get an extra cup of ice cream. "
What played was an ABC nursery song.
" Follow after me! A B C D E F G … X Y Z~~ Now I know my ABC~~~ "
----
With the sun rising, the English lesson came to an end.
" The reward for tonight's lesson goes to Yisu, Sugude, and Tolui."
Yisu, the only woman among the lot is in her late-twenties. She has a very distinct creamy porcelain face, wide cheekbones, deeply set dark mellow eyes, and full lips.
Complementing her femininity is long well-tied dark hair. The only thing that contrasts her feminine trait is a massive scar in her right arm that stretches from shoulder down to her hand.
On the other hand, Tolui looked like he is in his late thirties. He looked average if compared with his tribesman. His only defining feature is his long pointy mustache.
But then again, looks are very deceiving. Although average-looking, Tolui is quick-witted and has an exceptional ability to blend in the background.
For these people who were able to barely recite the English alphabet, Krei awarded them each with a cup of mango-flavored ice cream and five candies.
As for the others who fell short, they only received five candies.
" Study hard everyone! I will be seeing you again tonight. Consume your ice cream as soon as possible. Don't let it melt. " Krei waved them goodbye.
When they were out of the tent, whispers instantly went rowdy. The three that had received a cup of ice cream became the center of attention and the target of jealousy.
-----
Back on Earth, it was already mid-afternoon.
Yawning mildly, Krei stretched his back as he dragged his half-asleep body around his tiny apartment.
" Lord. Lord. Lord. I will become a Lord! "
" Power! Riches! Who dares meet me in the eye! "
Krei's short daydream was only interrupted when he saw the messages sent to his phone.
Loads upon loads of messages asking him to pay up filled his inbox. From banks to loan sharks and local thugs.
" Time does fly fast. "
Krei yanked out a couple of junk foods in his refrigerator and headed out. He drove a rented pickup truck and slowly ate chips.
His destination was an old subdivision.
"Boss! We've completed the tasks. The water and electricity had been cut off. "
"We've also set up tarpaulin covers around the perimeter of the site. "
Two rough-looking men in their mid-twenties greeted Krei as he alighted from his vehicle. Their faces were full of smiles.
"How about the septic tanks and pipings?"
"Don't worry boss, we were able to get the building's blueprint. We've also marked the places that you've mentioned."
"Good. Good. You can go now. Take all of our men to the other site."
Krei then handed them 8 thousand pesos. "Ohh~~ by the way, take these and treat our workers."
Jerich, the foreman of his new company, merrily took the money. Before long, only Krei remained at the demolition site.
It had been more than two months since Krei first came back to earth. The first month was spent recuperating, borrowing money, and setting up a construction and demolition company.
Krei obtained money from every possible source he was able to find. Be it loan sharks, banks, friends, or acquaintances --- he contacted them all and borrowed money.
After the arduous gathering of capital, Krei hired 15 men for his company and scooped every demolition contract he could get his hands on.
With Krei's spatial manipulation, demolition was all too easy. All he had to do was focus, and the wall would be stored in his 100 cubic meters of dimensional storage. There was no need for heavy equipment, his men were only tasked to prepare the demolition site.
And as expected, with Krei's extremely fast demolition, his company easily established a reputation in the local area.
Not only is his business very lucrative, but Krei was also able to hone his mastery in using his power.
It was hitting two birds with a stone.
Krei spent a couple of hours tearing down an entire block of houses. The only thing left on the site was a towering pile of concrete debris.
Krei heaved a deep breath as he rested among the debris. He whistled away his fatigue and dialed in his phone.
*Ring* *Ring* *Ring*
"Hello, Boss! My men had already finished the demolition. "
"#%$&#"
"Ahh… yes~ yes~ everything is just like before. The debris was properly piled."
"#&$%#"
"That's a pity…. What about other contracts?"
"$&#%@"
"Subcontracting road constructions? How much?"
"#&%#%@&"
"Aye Aye~~ We will take it, boss, please don't move it for bidding. You'll be satisfied with my pricing."
"#&$&#-#"
"Of course! We will take care of the officials. They will be satisfied with the red packets."
Krei did his best small talking and bootlicking the government officials. The call lasted for more than ten minutes before he was able to secure the project.
"Easy money. Easy life."
Energized with the newly acquired contract, Krei hurriedly went to his vehicle and sped out of the subdivision.
=========================================
Yisu:
- A woman with a striking scar stretching from her right shoulder down to her arms.
- One of the twelve leaders of the devastated Sekle tribe. The only woman among the twelve.
Tolui:
- Average looking but has a pointy mustache.
- Has an exceptional ability to blend in with people.
Jerich:
- The foreman hired by Krei for his company.
- Rough-looking.
Boss ???:
- Probably an influential person in the local area
- Is able to give out government contracts.
- Loves red packet. Most likely a corrupt official.
Xiugmari:
- The language used by the people of the Xiu Empire and its vassal kingdoms.
=========================================